[K44ent]

Due to collect my new GLC 43 AMG in a few weeks time so getting pretty excited now. Coming from a CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake so a little bit different. I have tried to do some research on the steering crabbing issue but am getting mixed answers. The dealers AMG specialist has told me that the tyre compound has been changed on the latest cars so the crabbing issue is minimised however speaking to another member of the sales team he has offered me a change to winter / all season tyres on delivery. He then went on to say that I have 18,000 miles to put a warranty claim in for new winter / all season tyres so why not wait till next winter?
It’s seems unclear on how bad the issue is on new vehicles so unsure what would be the best course of action if any?
I am currently using a 67 plate demo GLC 250 AMG Line that is fitted with 20” wheels and all season tyres. I have not experienced the crabbing issue in it except when driving in snow a few weeks ago so wondering if something has changed on later cars or the tyres can play such a big part in it.
Anyway my new GLC 43 AMG is white with the premium Plus pack and is coming on 19” wheels.
Only other options are the fancy head lights and 360 deg camera.

 

[Philamg]

Welcome to the forum, you have been given incorrect information.

Read the GLC clonking thread for in depth information.

Firstly the ISSUE is NOT treated as a warranty claim, it is more of a goodwill gesture by MB that they are changing the the tyres to all seasons.

Assume your car will come with the standard 19 inch wheels, the same as mine. There are NO all weather tyres available for the GLC43 in 19 or 20 inch wheels , only available in 21 inch. I have been trying to sort this out since last March when I collected the car, have reported it to the motoring ombudsman and I am awaiting their decision.

The intelligent lights are brilliant, have to be seen working to understand how good they are.

Can you please add your location to your profile, it helps when people answer your queries, I knew you were in the UK from your post as you mention 67 plate but wouldn't be aware in the future.

 

[K44ent]

Location updated

I've read the GLC clonking issue, makes interesting reading!

Ref the tyres I have asked my dealer for clarification however My-Tyres are showing Vredestein Quatrac 5 all season tyres in GLC 43 19" sizes (235/55/19 and 255/50/19) in stock. The loan car I have has these on (235/55/19 all round) and has no clonking / crabbing issues.

 

[Toobad]

Hi K44ent and welcome to the forum. Are you sure a Quatrac 5 is available in 255/50/19? I know Vredestein do a 255/55/19 in a W speed rating. This would give you a slightly larger rolling diameter and whilst it would probably physically fit, the car's electronics may need to be recalibrated to give correct readings with the taller tyre in place. You are in the envious position of being able to get Mercedes to define exactly how they intend to overcome this tyre skipping problem BEFORE you agree to take the car. As @Philamg will attest, dealing with MB Customer Service after the event is akin to swimming in concrete Wellingtons. Try not to let your heart rule your head in all the excitement. Let them know you consider this "characteristic" sufficiently serious for you to invoke your rights to a rejection and full refund if not resolved within the first 30 days of ownership. Remember that the salesman's prime focus is on closing the sale and will be fully aware any after-sales fallout is going to be dealt with by somebody else. Act in haste, repent at leisure.

 

[K44ent]

Thanks for the advise, I'm certainly trying to not let my heart rule my head but sometimes it's good to be reminded.

I have an e-mail from the dealer stating that the compound has been changed on the tyres and that if the car does still suffer from the skipping effect I have options of different tyres up to 2 years and 20k miles into ownership.

If you search My Tyres they have the 255/50/19 Quatrac 5's showing as in stock. Still nervous....

 

[K44ent]

Thanks for the advise, I'm certainly trying to not let my heart rule my head but sometimes it's good to be reminded.

I have an e-mail from the dealer stating that the compound has been changed on the tyres and that if the car does still suffer from the skipping effect I have options of different tyres up to 2 years and 20k miles into ownership.

If you search My Tyres they have the 255/50/19 Quatrac 5's showing as in stock. Still nervous....

Now showing as unavailable........:frown2:

 

[Toobad]

At least you have found they do indeed exist so it shouldn't be too hard to get them supplied by your dealer. They are listed on the Vredestein UK website:

Quatrac 5 SUV tyres

I have an e-mail from the dealer stating that the compound has been changed on the tyres and that if the car does still suffer from the skipping effect I have options of different tyres up to 2 years and 20k miles into ownership.

Being cynical, I would say there is a fair amount of "salesman speak" in that e-mail. For peace of mind you may want to forward it to MB Customer Services to get official confirmation from the horses mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if they tell you this isn't MB policy but a unique agreement between you and the Stealer. MB tend to settle things with goodwill gestures rather than create precedents which may have significant financial ramifications.

 

[Philamg]

K44ent, not trying to scare you and take the edge off your new car. As I said I was in touch with dealer and customer services from last march until October when I gave up. Have put it in the hands of the motoring ombudsman but not holding out a lot of hope.
MB offered me a set of 21 inch wheels and tyres but I would have to pay 50% towards the cost, they also offered me winter tyres free of charge but after the initial change of tyres I would have to pay to have them swapped, over £100 each time. I was also worried about the wheels being damaged in the 6 changes the car would have.

Would I buy another 43, maybe, it is a great car apart from this issue. They call it a characteristic but it is unbelievably bad, if I did buy another 43 it would have to have 21 inch wheels not to have the issue.

I also had in writing from the sales team that I could change my tyres free of charge to all seasons in the winter, that was before they found out that they aren't available.

Don't really know how to advise you, it is up to you but believe me next winter it WILL be a problem.

Shame you live so far from me as I could demonstrate it on my car to help with your decision.

 

[K44ent]

K44ent, not trying to scare you and take the edge off your new car. As I said I was in touch with dealer and customer services from last march until October when I gave up. Have put it in the hands of the motoring ombudsman but not holding out a lot of hope.
MB offered me a set of 21 inch wheels and tyres but I would have to pay 50% towards the cost, they also offered me winter tyres free of charge but after the initial change of tyres I would have to pay to have them swapped, over £100 each time. I was also worried about the wheels being damaged in the 6 changes the car would have.

Would I buy another 43, maybe, it is a great car apart from this issue. They call it a characteristic but it is unbelievably bad, if I did buy another 43 it would have to have 21 inch wheels not to have the issue.

I also had in writing from the sales team that I could change my tyres free of charge to all seasons in the winter, that was before they found out that they aren't available.

Don't really know how to advise you, it is up to you but believe me next winter it WILL be a problem.

Shame you live so far from me as I could demonstrate it on my car to help with your decision.

Are you saying that only cars with 19" and 20" wheels suffer? I have gone for the standard 19" as I thought the taller the tyre profile the less likely it would be to skip on full lock?

 

[K44ent]

This is the e-mail I was sent after an e-mail from me and a phone call back from the dealer.

Whether this is just an agreement I have in place by the dealer or MB policy it gives me some reassurance. The dealer has so far been very good and I have no reason to think this will change.

Thanks for your email. I have spoken to ****** (workshop controller) who have advised Mercedes have options for 19” tyres for your GLC 43 tyre skipping issue. Michelin have a revised compound to reduce the sensation, this is not an all season tyre however, the other two options are a Goodyear and a Vredestein tyre (these are all season), there is no choice on which is supplied & fitted however, this is down to availability at the time. ***** also advised that potentially when your car arrives, if it doesn’t already have the tyres fitted that the replacements will be on back order. Rest assured, there is coverage up to 19,000 miles or 2 years to process a claim so if the tyres don’t arrive straight away (unlikely anyway) its not an issue.

 

[AndrewB]

Interesting stuff , I wonder if my car had the revised Michelin tyres as my skipping problem doesn't seem as bad as Phil's car and after getting the tyres warmed up a bit doesn't seem to happen. I see the Vredesteins are showing on their website in the required sizes and w rated which should be fast enough I wonder if anyone has had these fitted and why Mercedes aren't offering them. Has anyone asked for them?

 

[K44ent]

Interesting stuff , I wonder if my car had the revised Michelin tyres as my skipping problem doesn't seem as bad as Phil's car and after getting the tyres warmed up a bit doesn't seem to happen. I see the Vredesteins are showing on their website in the required sizes and w rated which should be fast enough I wonder if anyone has had these fitted and why Mercedes aren't offering them. Has anyone asked for them?

What size wheels are you running?

 

[Philamg]

The ONLY all season tyres for the 43 are 21 inch ones, when fitted to the 21 inch there is next to no skipping.

Regardless of what the email says there are NO all weather tyres available for the 43 in 19 or 20 inch, that information is straight from AMG customer services. The tyres fitted to my car are Michelin latitude sport, will be interesting to find out what yours comes with. If all weather tyres were available surely the car would come with them fitted from the factory rather than MB covering the cost of fitting them later, all land rovers come with all weathers fitted.

Your dealers information is wrong, give AMG customer services a call, the direct number is 02076606938, will be interested to hear what they say.

 

[Tony Mac]

The ONLY all season tyres for the 43 are 21 inch ones, when fitted to the 21 inch there is next to no skipping.

Worth adding that the crabbing WILL RETURN as the replacement tyres wear. 43 owners with replacement 21" tyres have seen the problem resurface after as few as 4,000 miles, others after higher mileage.

If you think it's just a minor annoyance now, it just gets worse and will drive you mad. I think Phil will attest to this as his GLC didn't initially appear to exhibit the fault

Fresh new rubber certainly masks the problem, but from my experience the steering at low speeds always feels light, twitchy, squibbly and not quite as 'planted' as I had expected from a premium brand car

Great look & performance, comfortable and good value - shame about the CRABBING

Tony

 

[Philamg]

Correct Tony, had no issue at all until October, terrible now 4500 miles, not only on full lock.

Andrew, which Michelins are on your car, mine are latitude sports.

 

[K44ent]

I appreciate the heads up, is it worse on the GLC 43 compared to the other GLC models in the range? The GLC 250d AMG line that I am using has been in my care since November 1st 2017 when it had done 6 miles. It has now done 2500 miles, shows no signs of abnormal tyre wear and does not crab albeit I noticed it very slightly in snow. It's been as cold as minus 3 and has been fine. From what I am reading it appears worse on he 43.
I'll be picking mine up in a few weeks time so weather forecast is cold and wet so it should do it straight away if the tyres are suspect

Just for info - Vredestein List the Quatrac 5 in 235/55/19 and 255/50/19

 

[Philamg]

The speed rating on the vredstein is W, the ones fitted to mine are Y, not sure if that is why they won't fit them.

 

[Toobad]

I appreciate the heads up, is it worse on the GLC 43 compared to the other GLC models in the range?

Your 43 will come with air suspension and a slightly less forgiving AMG ride quality. This may make it more reluctant to absorb some of the lateral forces being generated by the incorrect steering geometry through its suspension leaving the flexing of the tyres to do more of the masking. Up until now it has been generally accepted no all-season tyres have been available for 19 and 20-inch wheels in the required 43 tyre widths and wall heights. A BMW-rated Continental ContiSport tyre set was sourced for 43 owners with 21-inch wheels and, when new, these proved effective in masking the tyre skipping.

As you have found, Vredestein appear to have all-season tyres to suit the 19-inch rims on your 43. You would do well to task your Stealer with confirming their tyre supplier can get them, they may also need to get MB UK to sanction fitment.
@Philamg - W-rated tyres are approved for speeds up to 168mph and Y-rated tyres for speeds up to 186mph, both of which exceed the maximum speed of a 43.

 

[K44ent]

I will give AMG a call today and see what they say about the revised compound tyres now being fitted and availability of the all season tyres if that's not the case.

 

[K44ent]

Ok, have spoken to AMG. My car will come with summer tyres, they can not confirm if they are a revised compound or not, can't even tell me the brand. I have an option to have all-season tyres fitted by the dealer at no cost to me and I need to arrange this with them. An all season tyre is available for my GLC 43 AMG and I have 19,000 miles and two years to get them changed.

So..I will see how it drives initially and as soon as the crabbing becomes evident I will get the tyres changed.

However, I think this is pretty poor for a premium brand and why does it not come with all-season tyres as standard.

However this could work to my advantage as I can use the summer tyres (revised compound or not) till next winter then get a set of all-season tyres fitted.